Tuesday, October 23, 2018

October 23, 2018 – Follow-up, no Lupron

“Remission Man Gets Checked” was the headline in the
local paper.Okay, it didn’t make the
papers because it wasn’t that exciting.In
my September 7th checkup I had asked to stop the Lupron injections
to see what might happen.My oncologist agreed,
as long as we watch my PSA and testosterone levels in 6 weeks.Today was my 6-week appointment.

I had the labs the day before and unfortunately the
ultra-sensitive PSA results take several days because they send the sample out.In the meantime all of my other results were
extremely normal.My testosterone level
is 17, which says the Lupron is still affecting me.I am now chaffing at the bit to know what my
PSA is.

During this period I have been taking my supplements, watching
my diet to cut down on sugar, and doing some exercising.I need to exercise more!I feel I am wasting away, although I have
only lost three or so pounds.I just
feel skinny, seeming that my muscles are smaller and I am not as strong.

During this period I also considered the Care Oncology
Centers protocol, mainly because of a post in UsToo! from a guy with the same
Stage IV cancer who went on the COC protocol and, without Lupron, experienced
tumor shrinkage. The Care Oncology protocol is:Oral atorvastatin up to 80mg once per day, oral metformin up to 1000mg
onceper day, increased to bid, oral
doxycycline 100mg once per day, oral Mebendazole 100mg once per day.It is managed by a tele-doctor and my labs on
a quarterly basis.The initial tele
consult costs $800, the meds cost $60/month, and quarterly consults cost
$295.Of course none is covered by
insurance.

I talked to a COC specialist and he recognized that some
of what I have been doing with my supplements constitutes a metabolic treatment
(affecting cell growth).The COC
protocol is essentially metabolic treatment.He talked about the advantages of metabolic treatment and how safe their
particular treatment is.He added that
he thought in my case the treatment would stave off the cancer growth and,
using doxycycline in particular will help stop calcium from leaching into the
bloodstream.

I discussed this with my oncologist, Dr. Bhangoo.He said the protocol could possibly help, but
that there was so little evidence that it would help in the case of prostate
cancer.I thought a lot about what he
said, what the COC doctor said, and read as much as I could find on COC.I came to the conclusion that I would just
continue my “metabolic” treatment with the supplements that some evidence has
shown have reduced cancer cell production and see what happens without the
Lupron.I’ll reserve COC for later.

That said, I had read that metformin, which is used to
treat diabetic conditions, may be a true anti-cancer drug.This was first based on anecdotal evidence
that diabetics being treated with metformin had a reduced risk of cancer and
improved cancer outcomes.Since this
discovery, preclinical studies have shown that metformin impairs cellular
metabolism and suppresses oncogenic signaling pathways.In other words it could slow cancer cell
division.Metformin also has few side
effects, the major one being diarrhea.

I talked with Dr. Bhangoo about my desire to try
metformin to go with my supplements that are also trying to also slow or stop
cancer cell division.He said he could
prescribe it for me and we could start with a low dosage.I am very much looking forward to getting my
prescription.I am less concerned about diarrhea
because I am having the opposite problem recently.I am blaming my problem on the Modified
Citrus Pectin or some other supplement I am taking.Being constipated is no fun!My oatmeal and veggie smoothies aren’t doing
the trick.

So, next we will (1) find out what my PSA reading is and
(2) see what happens when I take metformin.